Egypt

197 Egyptians return home from Libya in 24 hours

Head of Mersa Matrouh security directorate, Maj. Gen. Mukhtar Alsenbary announced Wednesday that 197 Egyptians have returned home from Libya through Sallum crossing, over the past 24 hours.

Alsenbary explained that among the returnees, 148 people have entered the country legally and 49 others have entered illegally.

He pointed out that 893 people have traveled to Libya through Sallum crossing, including 242 Egyptians and 651 Libyans, during the past 24 hours.

The borders between Egypt and Libya are porous, and cross-border crimes are not unusual, and many people choose illegal attempts to flee from their country, seeking a better life.

Noteworthy, Sallum is a village in Egypt, near the Mediterranean Sea, east of the border with Libya, and around 145 km (90 mi) from Tobruk.

While Sallum is not a tourist area, there is nevertheless one hotel (al-Ahrum) and a few other places to stay, according to tour Egypt.

This was the ancient Roman port of Baranis, and there are still some Roman wells in the area. It is also a Bedouin trading center.

It sits on the Egyptian North Coast, but it's location basically on the boarder with Libya about as far east as one may travel in Egypt means that it is out of the way of most everything، with few attractions other than a WWII Commonwealth war cemetery.

There is a post office and a National Bank of Egypt branch, and some nearby beaches may be isolated and attractive.

For years Libya has been both a destination and a transit country for refugees and migrants fleeing poverty, conflict or persecution in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, according to Amnesty International.

Many come to Libya hoping to reach Europe. But the rise of lawlessness and threat posed by armed groups has exacerbated the risks they face، leading even established communities of migrants who have been living and working in Libya for years to flee to Europe by boat.